


you are the young flames that will inherit our will of fire

by lanasxwshxn



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Founding of Konoha, Gen, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Shimura Danzou Being an Asshole, Tragedy, Uchiha Izuna Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29021208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanasxwshxn/pseuds/lanasxwshxn
Summary: a reimagine of how tobirama's final moments with the escort unit would have gone, had izuna lived and was part of the unit.''we're going to be the decoy, obviously.''
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Izuna
Kudos: 34





	you are the young flames that will inherit our will of fire

**Author's Note:**

> UMM i've been reading in ao3 since 2016 but i've only decided to publish something now,,, i barely remember anything about naruto and i wrote this at 2am, sleep deprived so it's pretty shit but read if u want to hehe<3 english is NOT my native language so no bully me pls?/... ALSO cw its pretty cringe>?> and written in lowercaps ew AND its 2k word vomit bc i miss tbiz

danzo and sarutobi arrive at their previously agreed meetup, a small part of the green forest where a large tree grew. it was perfect for ambush and hiding, no doubt, given it's low visibility and a wall-like trunk. however, both knew that it wouldn't be enough to turn the situation in favor of them.

kagami and torifu followed, quickly catching up by the nearing sound of their foot against the branches of the trees they passed by. "the enemy," kagami says, tone filled with dread. his eyes had activated the uchiha's sharingan, the signature 3-tomoe glowing from his pupils. "they've breached our defence. they're on to us." 

the panic wasn't hard to sense in his voice. danzo frowns, kagami had always been timid and coy, one of the weaknesses that he thought was the reason why his fellow teammate wouldn't put the sharingan to good use. beside him, homura stayed silent and koharu nervously clutched her hold on her knees tighter.

providing a temporary sense of relief, the second hokage arrived in the blink of an eye in front of them. izuna came after him, panting and covering his left eye with his hand.

kagami stepped forward, concerned. "izuna-san!" the mangekyo sharingan, only izuna uchiha and his brother were cursed with the painful fate of having it. 

catching up on his breath, izuna looked up from the ground and managed to put on a reassuring smile to the worried young adult. "i'll be fine. focus."

silence- only izuna's heaving could be heard. the six looked at the two expectantly, although apprehension slowly crept into their hearts at the feelings they would be told something they wouldn't like.

tobirama gently placed his two fingers on the ground, expression a deathly calm. "we're surrounded. there's.." he trailed off, pausing in concentration. "twenty of them."

"judging by their skills in pursuit, i'd say they're the highly skilled kinkaku unit- from the hidden cloud."

hopeless. they knew that not a single one of them would come out alive if they acted rashly at that moment. the kinkaku unit was feared, more especially because the s-class ninja it contained and the feared golden brothers that contained nine tail chakra.

kagami spoke up, dreadful certainty in his features. "we have no choice but to have someone act as decoy." a last resort.

"decoy?" torifu questioned, face grim at the idea. "that's suicide." he uttered, and shifted uncomfortably.

"who's it going to be?" he asked the foreboding question, unease at the weight it brought.

the two adults looked at the young, noticing that some were avoiding eye contact and some seemed to think hard about considering it. izuna took this moment to lean against the tree in exhaustion, dreading another moment where he would have to use these cursed, yet powerful eyes again. 

tobirama turned to look at him, eyes narrowing in worry and understanding, managing to relay their thoughts in dead silence.

at last, what felt like the longest silence for all of them was broken by hiruzen. "i'll do it." he announced confidently, selfless in the matter of sacrifice.

the other five stared at him in shock, in disbelief on how he could still keep a determined expression in the face of death. 

izuna faintly chuckled, remembering the small kid that would stick to tobirama and look at him with light of admiration in his eyes. who knew he would've grown into a fine man.

danzo grit his teeth, pride swallowed up at the turn of events. despite the relief, the relief that ate his pride, he clutched his thigh in frustration at remaning a coward. interrupting his inner momentum, hiruzen placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

his eyes widened. "i'm leaving everyone to you now, danzo." he stated, and danzo had found it so irritating at that moment, on how his friend could still retain a cheerful expression- as if he wasn't about to die. "i'm sure you can-"

"shut up!" danzo yelled, pushing hiruzen's hand off his shoulders in angered retaliation. hiruzen placed his hand down, expression falling. 

"i wanted to raise my hand!" he was exasperated, voice raised as a result, seemingly unable to care about the situation at hand and that his team- his master, was watching. finally being able to utter out the words he wanted to earlier, he yelled once more. "stop acting so cool by yourself! i'll be the decoy!"

hiruzen blinked.

"danzo.." koharu murmured, dreary. not that she doubted danzo's ability to hold them off- everyone had was capable of being a perfect decoy after all, and she knew their superior's believed in their capability as well. however, she grew tired of the long-time disdain danzo has grew for hiruzen in a matter of pride and ego. she wonders how their own teachers felt, having seen this rivalry for years. did they understand it better? or did they grow tired of it?

"danzo." izuna kept his tone stern, narrowing his gaze on the physically scarred young adult. "you're always competing with hiruzen for something, aren't you?" he puts it off quite bluntly. danzo tore his eyes away, lips curled in a frustrated sneer. hiruzen looked at his comrade and childhood friend in concern.

to add up to his lover's words, tobirama continued, stare cold and piercing. "but what we need right now is to unite as comrades in order to work together. i ask, that you do not mix personal affairs into this."

"the truth is, your decision was too slow." danzo shrunk at the second hokage's unsympathetic stare towards him. "you must first take a calm look within yourself to find out who you really are. right now, you'll just put everyone at risk."

danzo couldn't believe he was getting a scolding at a mission. however, at the words izuna spoke next, his heart dropped in disbelief.

"we're going to be the decoy, obviously."

their eyes widened at the bombshell dropped. izuna followed his words, staring at the blurring image of the six shinobi in front of him. they stared back at him in a mix of dread and admiration. "you.. are the young flames that will continue to protect our brothers dream with your will of fire."

"you can't! you're the hokage!" danzo yelled, and turned to face izuna. "and you're the head of the strongest clan in konoha, the uchiha! there are no other greater shinobi in the village than you two."

"danzo's right, lord hokage, izuna-san." kagami lowered his head in respect. "without you two to protect the village, it may end in shambles."

izuna pursed his lips. he and tobirama stood up from their crouched positions, hand on his hip as he looked down at the six figures in front of him.

"kagami, hiruzen." at the mention of their names, both looked up, ready to take any order. "take care of the uchiha." kagami blinked in surprise, yet nodded in respect for his clan head's final request. "and hiruzen, protect those you love in the village and those who believe in you."

"take care of those whom you will entrust the next generation to." tobirama grabbed his kunai from his back pocket, stance in preparation for combat. he softened his expression at the expectant gaze of his students. "starting tomorrow, you will become the hokage, saru."

hiruzen was stupefied, at a loss of words along with a bewildered danzo next to him. his comrades were incredulous as well, unable to believe the announcement tobirama had made.

"this is your last order as the elite escort unit." tobirama announced. "escape as quickly as you can while we buy you time. under no circumstance will you follow, or head to the battlefield."

the six agreed at the order, as painful as it stung their hearts knowing that this would be the last moment they would share with the people they looked up to the most. "yes, sir!"

"everyone, we leave konoha to you." izuna smiled brightly, a sense of nostalgia and warmth washing over him when he pictures the six children that would behave playfully and cry at the smallest trouble. the curious, wide eyes wanting to learn how to become strong like the two they most respected. "now, go."

thank you. 

the figures quickly disappeared, heading off to safety as ordered. at the loud explosion in the direction of 2 o'clock, izuna quickly faced tobirama. 

"we must head to the battlefield- immediately, to buy them time." tobirama told him, arms crossed.

"you don't need to tell me that." izuna responded, lips curling to a fond smile at his lover. "we've made quite the decision, entrusting our older brother's dreams to them."

"i believe they can do well. and, after all these years- it is finally our time to join our brothers, is it not?"

izuna chuckled, leaning his forehead on tobirama's lip. tobirama placed his hand on the back of izuna's head, pulling his the uchiha closer to kiss his forehead protector, on which the symbol of konoha was engraved. "you're right. hiruzen, danzo, kagami, homura, torifu and koharu will do a splendid job protecting our village."

"we mustn't take too long. let's go, izuna."

at this izuna smiled.

he was happy to face death with open arms, if it meant protecting the village his older brother had long dreamed of, protecting the young shinobi and their mothers, and being with tobirama up to the very end.

he wonders, if he would've known 20 years ago at that battlefield where he and tobirama were ready to kill each other for their clans- would eventually fall for each other for the shared promise of protecting their village and it's peace together.

"i love you." 

tobirama looked at him in shock. he sputtered, in a frenzy of fluster. izuna laughed at still being able to make his lover a mess despite years of being together and knowing each other even longer. "i love you too." tobirama whispered.

izuna leaned on his warmth, relishing in the moment as if it was the last time he could feel it. he placed a light kiss on tobirama's lips, sealing his lips with unsaid promises of love.

sensing their enemies nearing chakra signatures come closer, izuna pulled away and put on a bold front at the direction of danger. both stood still, stance ready for battle. their enemies appeared almost instantly as he had sensed them.

twenty, as tobirama had called it. all wearing the forehead protectors of the hidden cloud. in front, the golden brothers stood proudly, sneering at the two.

"konoha's second hokage- and izuna uchiha of the mangekyo sharingan." kinkaku smirked, pulling out what seemed to be a weapon tool. "i can't wait to crush you both and your pathetic leaf village."

izuna narrowed his eyes. "we won't let you, even if it means having to lay down our lives."

"oh? i like that." his brother, ginkaku, spoke up with an evil leer, tilting his head.

the moment a proud curl of kinkaku's lip formed to chuckle, izuna and tobirama dashed, running to the welcoming arms of death.

and when izuna felt he was at his last breath, he collapsed in a pool of blood from his wounds. they managed to put up a good, long-lasting fight, killing and injuring more than half their men, only the two brothers and very few, that had been knocked up, remaining. they never stood a chance to come out alive anyway, either of them.

beside him, tobirama's corpse was stumped and beaten to the ground with an exhausted, devilish grin by the unit's captain.

izuna stared at the blurred, red image of the night sky. he hoped that it had been long enough and that those six were already in the village- or at least somewhere safe. he prayed, the hope that they would grow up to protect the hidden leaf blooming in his dangerously slow-beating heart.

his eyes, now seeing nothing but a deteriorating blur at this point, felt heavy. he didn't try to fight it, instead choosing to succumb to the calling voice of eternal sleep. 

that night, izuna uchiha and tobirama senju were announced dead in the village. the following day, an honorary funeral was held for both leaders, and hiruzen sarutobi took position as hokage.

their brothers dreams, passed down to them as a will of fire, will continue on in the thankful hearts of the next generation.

**Author's Note:**

> genshin anyone?


End file.
